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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took a swipe at Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., on Saturday, saying Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary isn’t about her, but about whether the “billionaire class” can stop progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Sanders — joined by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., at the Detroit Opera House rally — delivered the remarks to voters alongside El-Sayed, who is set to face Stevens in Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary.
“In all due respect to Haley Stevens, everybody knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul,” Sanders said. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class. That is what this election is about.”
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Sanders said wealthy donors and outside groups have poured unprecedented sums into the race to defeat El-Sayed, whom he has endorsed as one of the leading progressive candidates running for the Senate this cycle.
“The billionaire class, which has already — and there are two weeks left to go in the election — has already spent $50 million against him,” Sanders said. “Now I want everybody here throughout the state, people turning on the TVs, and they see all these ads, I want you to ask yourself a simple question: Why are the richest people in the country spending tens and tens of millions of dollars to defeat Abdul El-Sayed?”
Sanders claimed outside groups have outspent El-Sayed’s campaign by a margin of 12-to-1, portraying the flood of spending as evidence that powerful interests view the progressive candidate as a threat.
According to AdImpact, super PACs backing Stevens are spending about $26.9 million on TV ads during the final five weeks of the primary, compared with roughly $2.1 million backing El-Sayed.
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The Michigan Senate primary has emerged as one of the most closely watched Democratic contests of the 2026 cycle, highlighting the growing divide between the party’s progressive and establishment wings.
El-Sayed has been endorsed by Sanders and other prominent progressives, including AOC, while Stevens has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and recently received the endorsement of retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
Stevens has represented Michigan’s 11th Congressional District since 2019 after serving on the Obama administration’s auto industry task force.
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The congresswoman attracted attention on the campaign trail in recent days after a couple of bizarre speeches went viral online.
In one viral clip, Stevens was mocked online as critics compared her animated campaign speech to a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch featuring Chris Farley’s “van down by the river” character.
The viral moment also drew renewed attention to a 2020 House floor speech in which Stevens, wearing pink latex gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, continued speaking after her allotted time expired as the speaker pro tempore repeatedly declared her “out of order” and struck the gavel.
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The Senate race tightened after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow ended her campaign earlier this month, leaving Stevens and El-Sayed in a head-to-head contest that many Democrats view as a proxy battle over the party’s future direction.
The winner is expected to face Republican Mike Rogers in November.
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